Patrick Temple-West

WASHINGTON - Nonfarm payrolls rose by 103,000 workers in December and private payrolls added 113,000, both below economists' estimates, as the unemployment rate dropped to 9.4%, the lowest level in 19 months, the Labor Department reported Friday.

WASHINGTON — Initial claims rose by 18,000 to 409,000 for the week ending Jan. 1, but the four-week moving average fell to its lowest level in more than two years, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON - Initial claims increased by 18,000 to 409,000 for the week ending Jan. 1 as the four-week moving average for initial claims dropped to the lowest level in more than two years, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford released a fiscal 2012 budget Tuesday — his final one as governor — that proposes some spending cuts for a state facing a $1.3 billion budget gap.

Looming budget gaps for fiscal 2012 are the top concerns state legislators face as they begin their 2011 lawmaking sessions, according to a survey conducted by the National Conference of State ­Legislatures.

WASHINGTON — Members of the Federal Open Market Committee said they have “a fairly high threshold” for adjustments to the Treasury purchase plan known as Quantitative Easing 2, or QE2, according to minutes from their last meeting released Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — Factory orders surged past economist expectations in November, rising 0.7% due to higher energy prices, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - Members of the Federal Open Market Committee said they have “a fairly high threshold” for adjustments to the Treasury purchase plan, while they expressed concern that state and local government fiscal conditions remain a detriment to growth, according to the minutes of the Dec. 14 meeting, which were released Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - Factory orders increased 0.7% in November as orders excluding transportation jumped by the largest amount in eight months, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — Construction spending increased 0.4% in November, the Commerce Department said Monday.

WASHINGTON - Construction spending increased 0.4% in November, stronger than economists expected, as private construction continued to gain, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

WASHINGTON — Economists have raised their estimates for economic growth in 2011, but they have mixed views on whether the unemployment rate will come down.

Faced with the loss of stimulus aid, state and local governments are hoping the economy will rebound in time to support their budgets and defuse market concerns over credit downgrades and possible bond defaults, market participants said in their outlooks for 2011.

WASHINGTON — New home sales increased 5.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 290,000 in November, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

WASHINGTON — Personal income rose 0.3% and personal spending increased 0.4% in November as spending on core expenditures expanded by the smallest amount on record, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON — Durable goods orders fell more than economists expected in November, dropping 1.3% to post their second straight decline, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON - New home sales increased 5.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 290,000 in November, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON – Durable goods orders dropped 1.3% in November, the second straight decline, as transportation orders sank, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON – Personal income rose 0.3%, while personal spending increased 0.4% in November as core expenditures spending increased by the smallest amount on record, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON — Home resales rose more slowly than economists expected in November, expanding 5.6% to a seasonally adjusted 4.68 million rate, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.